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ASCAP, BMI, SESAC Hurting Musicians

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ASCAP, BMI, SESAC Hurting Musicians

ASCAP, BMI and SESAC are the three primary collectors of royalties for musicians and songwriters in the United States. When a song is played in movies, on radio or television, used in a jukebox, or played by a cover band in a bar, among other things, one of these organizations collects the money due for that use, and then gives a portion back to the songwriters.

 

This arrangement is simple enough, but the logistics of determining fees, specifically regarding using songs in a live setting, may be hurting musicians. For any place that allows live music, each of these three agencies asks the venue to pay a fee to pay for the costs of any cover songs played. The problem is that the fees are often too much for venues to pay, especially smaller venues with lesser-known musicians, and the fact that, despite many of these venues asking musicians to play only original music, these organizations still want to charge the venue these fees "just in case." In response, many of these live venues are simply not having live music.

 

With less places to play, this arrangement prevents musicians from making a name for themselves In addition, because royalties are so hard to determine logistically, ASCAP, BMI and SESAC have only been paying major musicians, whose royalties are easier to track. A BMI representative disgustingly quipped that musicians who are looking for their royalty payments should "write a hit song."

 

As venues give up live music and minor musicians aren't paid their royalties, it seems like these organizations are hurting the music industry just as much as a group like the RIAA. While ASCAP, BMI and SESAC aren't suing anyone, they are certainly making it harder for musicians to make a living playing music. [TechDirt]

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I disagree with this article. I am by no means a major musician, though I have received many checks from BMI over the years... Not enough to live on (laughable), but it is money I never would have seen otherwise - Obviously one is going to make more money from royalties (if they start their own publishing and are the sole writer), if say, they have a song in a T.V. show, versus a song being played a few times on Internet radio... I mean, at a $.01 a play, it takes a lot of plays to add up... I just think this article is too slanted. These companies have been charging these fees for years, it isnt anything new. In the end, I think artists are better off being affiliated w/ these organizations, than not, as an occasional check for $350 is better than nothing... My 2 cents...

Michael Knight

I worked for a small bar/music venue and witnessed what were essentially Extortion techniques on the part of ASCAP, SESAC and BMI. I totally agree that something is better than nothing as far as the artist getting paid. But what if there are no more places for an artist to "start out"? For the giant venues that have the national/world acts coming through it's no big deal. None of these organizations can explain how they track what songs are getting covered where. It's just impossible to do! We're not talking small change for these small venues either... the venue I worked at ended up having to pay over $14,000 to these organizations... just to not get shut down for having live music! If I had a bar and was faced with such a situation, why would having live music be cost effective?

Tony

The licensing fees these organizations charge are not about simply live music. In many cases with small venues, even if the venue drops live music, their fees would not go down because they're allready facing minimum fees for the recorded music they play. Under copyright law, there is no distinction between live and recorded music. The royalties these organizations pay are the primary source of income for most songwriters who achieve commercial success in their profession

jaybay

These organizations are also harassing small, non-profit, monthly coffeehouses, usually run by churches. Eg., ASCAP is harassing such a coffeehouse where all profits go to local charities, such as homeless shelters.

Patricia Shannon

We've started a Facebook group in an attempt to start a dialogue with BMI. Please join "Keep Live Music Alive" here if you are interested:

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=212540202506&ref=ts

Just to let you know, there will be no bashing, name calling, etc. We feel the best way to get answers is to enter into a civil discussion.

Thanks.

Laura Marie

I have run a local original music venue for eight years, and I can tell you that ASCAP is a crooked orginazation. They mailed us a letter about a show they alledgely attended, claiming our bands played five ASCAP-covered songs. I checked the date, and I can tell you ABSOLUTELY that these bands played no cover songs, much less the ones they stated. Unfortunately, it would cost us just as much in lawyer fees to fight it (and we would probably lose), so we had to pay it. I completely understand the right of artists to receive royalties on their music, but this was outright extortion. Anybody else experience these mob tactics?

Jesse Busch

I told ASCAP to send me a list of songs that I could not play. They would not send it. I think it is time to put these thugs in their place. There should be a flat rate based on some other standardized measure of how much one should pay. I have a neighborhood saloon and those creeps in suits held me up for a fortune. They charge by occupancy. We are in the dang sticks here and they still stuck it to me. These guys are the most evil people I have had to deal with in the business.

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While it's fair that these organizations collect royalties for their artists, they are doing so blindly, pushing their weight around enough to get maximum compliance. I run a very small all ages venue that hosts local & underground touring bands. Our policy is that there are no cover songs allowed. It's just the culture of our (and so many other) small venues to encourage original music.

Fortunately for us, we have video recordings of all of our events. We broadcast all of our events online and have a permanent record of every show ever hosted by us. In all that time, I'd say maybe 3 - 5 cover songs were ever performed here. Under current law, I'm obligated to pay the same as another venue that plays cover songs all night.

Yes, they weild a mighty sword, albeit blindly... Personally? I'd rather close down than pay these crooks a dime for what I do.

TheTalentFarm

These companies are nothing more than collection agencies, bottom feeding off places that struggle to make a few bucks by having live music a few times a week. We have a very small community here and its only hurting the few musicians that try to make a living doing what they love. Suggestion to musicians: stay off Facebook, MySpace and Reverbnation - BMI use them as search tools to find where musicians are playing. I realize you want to promote your shows, but stick to local posters and word of mouth or you'll soon be out of job.

Spartacus

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